Healthy Carrot Sheet Cake
This instantly became one of my all-time favorite cake recipes! It’s supremely moist, filled with spices and plenty of sweet carrots, and then topped with a layer of velvety smooth cream cheese frosting. Every bite tastes cozy and comforting, with a deliciously dense and soft texture. It’s perfect for Easter, birthdays, or any ol’ day you’re craving cake! Leftovers will stay fresh for at least two or three days if stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator. (I love using a cake carrying case for this! Mine aren’t sold in stores anymore, but this one and this one are similar to the ones I own.)
Ingredients
- 3 cups (360g) whole wheat flour or gluten free* flour (measured like this)
- 1 tbsp (14g) baking powder
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 3 ½ tsp ground cinnamon (see Notes!)
- ¾ tsp ground nutmeg (see Notes!)
- ½ tsp salt
- 2 tbsp (28g) unsalted butter or coconut oil, melted and cooled slightly
- 4 large egg whites, room temperature
- 4 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 ½ tsp liquid stevia
- 5 tbsp (75mL) pure maple syrup
- ⅔ cup (160g) plain nonfat Greek yogurt
- 1 cup (240mL) nonfat milk, divided
- 3 ¼ cups 345g) freshly grated carrots (about 6-7 medium, peeled first – and see Notes!)
- optional: cream cheese frosting, for serving (see Notes!)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Cut a piece of wax paper to fit inside the bottom of a 9x13” pan. Coat the 9x13” pan with cooking spray. Gently press the wax paper into the bottom of the pan. Coat the wax paper with cooking spray.
- Whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt in a medium bowl. In a large bowl, whisk together the butter, egg whites, vanilla extract, and liquid stevia. Add in the Greek yogurt, stirring until no large lumps remain. Stir in the maple syrup. Stir in ½ cup of milk. Alternate between adding the flour mixture and remaining milk, beginning and ending with the flour mixture, and stirring just until incorporated. (For best results, add the flour mixture in 3 equal parts.) Gently fold in the carrots.
- Spread the batter into the prepared pan. Bake at 350°F for 32-36 minutes or until the top feels firm to the touch and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean or with a few crumbs attached. Cool in the pan for 10 minutes before carefully transferring the cake to a wire rack to cool completely. Once completely cool, top with the cream cheese frosting, if using.
Notes
IMPORTANT MEASURING NOTE – READ BEFORE BEGINNING: Be very careful to measure the flour correctly, using this method or a kitchen scale. (← That’s the one I own and love!) Too much flour will make your cake dry, instead of moist and tender.
IMPORTANT MIXING NOTE – READ BEFORE BEGINNING: Do not use a hand-held mixer or stand mixer to make the batter. This will result in a tough or gummy cake. Use a whisk where explicitly instructed, and use a fork for everything else.
FLOUR ALTERNATIVES: Whole wheat pastry flour, white whole wheat flour, or all-purpose flour may be substituted in place of the white whole wheat flour.
SPICE NOTES: If you’re a big fan of spices (like I am!), then I highly recommend increasing the nutmeg by ¼ teaspoon. (That’s how much I use when I make this cake!) I also highly recommend using Saigon cinnamon. It tastes stronger, richer, and sweeter than regular cinnamon. (I buy it online here, and it’s really inexpensive!)
EGG WHITE NOTES: The cake requires 4 full egg whites. The whites contain the majority of the protein in eggs, and that protein is required to ensure the cake maintains its shape and texture while cooling. Without all 4 egg whites, the cake will collapse while cooling and turn out gummy.
If you prefer using whole eggs, then use 4 whole eggs AND decrease the milk by 2 tablespoons to compensate for the added liquid volume from the yolks.
STEVIA NOTES: For a sweeter cake, increase the liquid stevia by an additional ¼ to ½ teaspoon.
I do not recommend substituting for the liquid stevia, if at all possible. (It’s one of my favorite ingredients, and you’ll use it in all of these recipes of mine, too!) Many stevia brands and products have different sweetness levels, so they’re not necessarily 1-for-1 substitutes for each other. For the best results, use the same liquid stevia that I do. I buy it online here because because that’s the best price I’ve found.
However, if you really prefer to omit the liquid stevia from the cake, substitute 1 ¼ cups (240g) coconut sugar or granulated sugar AND reduce the milk to ½ cup (120mL). You may also substitute 1 cup (240mL) of pure maple syrup, honey, or agave AND omit the milk. The baking time may vary slightly with any of these substitutions.
PURE MAPLE SYRUP ALTERNATIVES: Honey or agave may be substituted for the pure maple syrup. Do not substitute sugar free maple syrup. Your cake will collapse and turn out somewhat gummy. (See the “Sweeteners” header in my blog post above for more information!)
MILK ALTERNATIVES: Any milk may be substituted in place of the nonfat milk.
IMPORTANT CARROT NOTES: Measure the carrots by cups or grams – not by “medium” carrots. Not all “medium” carrots are the exact same size!
Do not substitute store-bought pre-shredded carrots (also called “matchstick” carrots). They’re thicker and drier, and they don’t soften properly while baking.
ADDING RAISINS + NUTS: You can add up to a combined ½ cup of raisins and nuts to the batter along with the carrots at the end of Step 2.
If adding raisins, I highly recommend hydrating them first. It makes them really plump and juicy! To do so, add the raisins to a microwave-safe bowl, cover them with water, and cover the top of the bowl with a lid or plastic wrap. Microwave on high for 1 minute. Let the raisins sit for 10-15 minutes (or while you measure and mix together the rest of the ingredients). Thoroughly drain the excess liquid before folding them into the batter.
CREAM CHEESE FROSTING: These are my two favorite cream cheese frosting recipes. You’ll need 1 full batch of either one to frost this cake.
GLUTEN FREE OPTION: For the gluten free flour, use the following: 1 ½ cups (180g) millet flour, ¾ cup (90g) tapioca flour, ¾ cup (90g) brown rice flour, and 2 ¼ teaspoons xanthan gum. Most store-bought gluten free flour blends (I like this one from Bob's Red Mill) will work as well, if measured like this.
LAYER CAKE OPTION: For Step 1, cut two 9”-round circles out of wax paper to fit inside two 9”-round cake pans. Lightly coat the two 9”-round cake pans with nonstick cooking spray. Gently press one wax paper circle into the bottom of each cake pan, and lightly coat the wax paper with nonstick cooking spray. At the end of Step 2, divide the batter evenly between the two 9”-round cake pans. Bake at 350°F for 28-32 minutes or until the top feels firm to the touch and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean or with a few crumbs attached. Cool in the pan for 10 minutes before carefully transferring the cake to a wire rack to cool completely.
MAKE AHEAD TIP: I highly recommend making this cake at least 24 hours in advance. While chilling in the refrigerator for a day, the flavors blend and meld together, and that makes this cake taste even better. Just tightly wrap the cake in plastic wrap before refrigerating.
HOW TO STORE: Store the unfrosted cake in the refrigerator tightly wrapped in plastic wrap (this is my favorite because it clings much more tightly than other brands!) or sealed inside of an airtight container. It should keep for at least four or five days, if not longer.
Store any leftover frosted cake in the refrigerator sealed inside of an airtight container or inside of a cake carrying case (my cases aren't sold in stores anymore, but this one and this one are similar to the ones I own!). It should keep for at least two or three days, if not longer.
{gluten free, clean eating, low fat, low sugar}
DID YOU MAKE THIS RECIPE?I'd love to hear what you think of it in a comment below! If you take a picture, tag @amyshealthybaking on Instagram or use the hashtag #amyshealthybaking.